Javascript data type: BigInt vs Number

Question

I just came across JavaScript's new data type BigInt. What are some of the real-time use cases where we have to use BigInt vs Number?

I also see that it doesn't have cross-browser compatibility at this point.

Answer 1

MDN doc

BigInt is a built-in object that provides a way to represent whole numbers larger than 2^53 - 1, which is the largest number JavaScript can reliably represent with the Number primitive and represented by the Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER constant. BigInt can be used for arbitrarily large integers.

Difference:

• BigInt cannot be used with methods in the built-in Math object and cannot be mixed with instances of Number in operations
• Because coercing between Number and BigInt can lead to loss of precision, it is recommended to only use BigInt when values greater than 2^53 are reasonably expected and not to coerce between the two types.

Answer 2

The differences between BigInt and Number:

	Number	BigInt
Safe Range	Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER; loses precision outside of this range	Extremely large integers
Math operations	Supports the Math object	Basic arithmetic operations: + * - % **
Decimal vs. Integer support	Integers and decimals, e.g 1.00, 2.56	Only integers, e.g 1n, 2n. 5n / 2 === 2n
Syntax	No special syntax	Append n to the end of a number literal or use new BigInt('100')
Type Conversion	Automatically converts Number to BigInt in operations	Requires explicit conversion to Number for arithmetic involving Number values
JSON	Supported by default	Not serializable by default

Use BigInt when you need to work with extremely large integers or require precise integer arithmetic without any loss of precision.